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Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc. |  Member Astronomical League |
 Member International Dark-Sky Association |
| FirstLight's First Ten Years |
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| 29°39' N, 82°21' W Altitude: 50 Meters (more or less) |
Updated Jan. 17, 1999 | ||
| (Click logo for home page) | Founded: September 1987 | (Developed with Netscape 4.x) |
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| FirstLight is the official, monthly publication of the Alachua Astronomy Club (AAC), Gainesville, Florida USA. Copyright © 1987-99. All rights reserved. |
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Mars Opposition
by Howard L. CohenMars is opposite the Sun and closest to the Earth on the night of the 11th/12th (101 million kilometers or 63 million miles, mag. -1.2). Although this distance is several times closer than when farthest (about 400 million kilometers or 250 million miles), this opposition is considered unfavorable. Do you know why?
At a favorable opposition, Mars is only about 35 million miles from Earth (and can reach mag. -3)! Favorable oppositions will not occur again until after the next century begins. The Martian north pole is tipped toward the Earth at this time and spring is in progress for its northern hemisphere. Even though the Martian disk will appear small and its northern polar cap is shrinking, its icy cap of frozen water and carbon dioxide should remain conspicuous in small telescopes as a bright, white patch.
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